Burn ban lifted for Saline County

August 21, 2012

The Office of Saline County Judge Lanny Fite confirmed to The Saline Courier today that the county is no longer under a burn ban.
Sheila Doughty, firewire information officer for the Arkansas Forestry Commission, also said that across the state the wildfire danger has been reduced from the extreme level to high level.
"Due to scattered rain and elevated relative humidity values, the wildfire danger has been lowered to the high wildfire danger level," she said. "Open burning is still discouraged as during high wildfire danger fires can escape and containment can be difficult," she said.
Doughty said there are still many counties in Arkansas under a burn ban. She said the Forestry Commission "encourages everyone to obey those burn bans and be careful of any outdoor activity that might spark a fire. This includes mowing and any other activity that may cause machinery sparks."
She added that the commmission "may raise" the wildfire danger level as the weather dictates.
For more information, visit www.arkansasforestry.org[3] or www.arkfireinfo.org[4].
To report a wildfire, call the Arkansas Forestry Commission Dispatch Center at 800-468-8834 or call 911.

*Published earlier today in the Saline Courier. A selection of our local news stories is available online. For complete news and sports coverage, subscribe to our print edition today.